What is effective praying? A believer genuinely, compellingly, calling on the name of the Lord. Prayer refers to the multifaceted communication of believers with the Lord. In addition to the words ‘prayer’ and ‘praying,’ this is actively described as calling on God, crying with one’s voice to the Lord, lifting one’s soul to the Lord, seeking the Lord, approaching the throne of grace boldly, and drawing near to God.
There are many reasons for prayer. Some people use it to call on God for help, others for giving thanks at mealtime, some for guidance, others for praise and worship. The Bible provides a reason why God’s people ought to pray. First and foremost, believers are given the command by God to pray. This instruction comes from the lips of psalmists, prophets, apostles, and the Lord Jesus Himself. God desires our fellowship, so we can maintain and grow our relationship with Him.
Prayer is the link to receiving God’s blessings and power, to receiving the fulfillment of his promises. His plan of salvation for humankind. God has limited Himself to the holy, believing, persevering prayers of His people. Many things could not happen in God’s kingdom without the intercessory prayers of believers. God desires to send workers into the gospel harvest; Christ teaches that it will accomplish God’s purpose through His people’s prayers. In other words, God’s power to attain His purpose is through His people’s earnest prayers on behalf of the progress of His kingdom. If believers fail to pray, we may be hindering the timely accomplishment of God’s redemptive purpose both for ourselves as individuals and the church as a body.
The requirements for effective praying have several conditions for our prayers to be active. True faith is to have a sincere attitude with a humble demeanor to receive an answer to prayer. The words we speak out of our mouth determines what type of approach we have towards the situation. We either be positive or negative. For example, if someone knows about our situation and comments on it, which turns out to be negative, the reply should be similar to Job. To respond as though everything is fine or it will be alright. The Gospel of Mark, chapter eleven, verse twenty-four, states, “Whatsoever things ye desire, when ye pray, believe that ye receive them and ye shall have them.”
Authority in prayer is in Jesus’ name. Jesus, Himself expressed this principle in the Gospel of John, “And whatsoever ye ask in my name, that will I do, that the Father may be glorified in the Son. If ye ask anything in my name, I will do it.” Our prayers should be made in harmony with the person, character, and will of our Lord.
Prayer is effective when it is in harmony or agreement with God’s will and word. One of the petitions in Jesus’ model prayer, the Lord’s prayer, confirms this: “Thy will be done in earth, as it is in heaven” in the Gospel of Matthew, chapter six, verse ten. In many instances, all believers know God’s will because He has revealed it to us in the Bible. We can be sure that any prayer based on God’s promises in His Word will be effective. At other times, God’s will becomes clear only as we seek to determine what it is. Then once we know His will about any given issue, we can pray with confidence and faith that God will answer.
Prayer is effective when living in harmony if we expect Him to hear and answer us. God will give us things we ask for only if we seek first the kingdom of God and his righteousness. For believers to determine if they are seeking the Lord first is based on what we do in our spare time. Apart from our priorities, do we desire to grow in God? Do we use some of our downtimes to read, pray, sing, praise, or even view something Biblical to enhance our inner being and stay in connection with God? In the book of First John, chapter three, verse twenty-two, declares that “whatever we ask, we receive of Him, because we keep His commandments, and do the things that are pleasing in His sight.” Obeying God’s commands, loving Him, and pleasing Him are indispensable conditions for receiving answers to prayer.
Conversely, if we cherish sin in our life, the Lord will not listen to our prayers as stated in the book of Psalms, chapter sixty-six, verse eighteen.
Finally, for the believer’s prayer to be effective, they must be persistent in prayer and faith. For example, after Elijah received the prophetic word that rain was coming, he persisted in prayer until the rain came.
The Scriptural elements and methods of effective praying begin with us. To pray effectively, we must genuinely praise and adore God; Closely related and equally important is thanksgiving to God. Sincere confessions of known sins are essential to the prayer offered in faith. God also instructs us to ask according to our needs. However, sometimes we do not receive because we ask with wrong motives that would not please God or endanger our relationship with Him. We must fervently pray for others.
How ought we to pray? Sincerely from our hearts; empty words or rituals God will not hear. We can pray silently, or we can pray aloud. We can use words, or we can pray with scripture. Believers can pray with the mind of the Spirit by using tongues which is the heavenly language. We can even pray by groaning without using any words, knowing that the Spirit will bring those audible requests to the Lord. Yet another method of praying is singing to the Lord. Earnest prayer to the Lord will be by fasting.
What posture is appropriate for prayer? Biblically, praying while standing, sitting, kneeling, lying on the bed, bowing down to the ground, lying on the ground, and lifting hands to heaven. It is not the posture of the body but the heart that is important.